Torrance retirement home gunman `Crazy Charlie' described as bully, stalker

An 81-year-old gunman who committed suicide after shooting two employees at his Torrance assisted living complex had repeatedly threatened to kill the manager, telling a resident "I'm going to take somebody with me" when he died, a tenant said Wednesday.

The gunman, who residents identified as Charles Wendell Christman, lived in a third-floor room at the Golden West Tower for more than 20 years. Some knew him as "Crazy Charlie." Others knew him as the intimidating big man who used vile curse words to describe women, hated the Asian residents, stalked other seniors, and boasted that he had been a young boxer who killed a teenager when he was 17.

"He threatened people here," said one resident of the senior complex who asked that her name not be published. "He intimidated people here. He's a bully."

Coroner's officials on Wednesday identified the female shooting victims as building manager Charlie Vanhagar, 54, and a caregiver, 53-year-old Maria Leon, who showed an address in Long Beach.

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Although police and the coroner's office did not release the gunman's name as they worked to find his relatives, Christman's fellow residents knew him well as a man who sought to control what was on the communal television in a public room, and who utilized his 280 pounds to frighten them.

"He was a foul man," the resident said.

Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt said detectives have reviewed surveillance footage from inside the building. The cameras captured a portion of the shooting.

Detectives believe Christman became angry with Leon for an unknown reason and had complained to Vanhagar about her. He was upset with Vanhagar because he believed the manager had done nothing about his complaint.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police and witnesses believed Christman targeted the manager and killed Leon because she was standing nearby. The women, who were in different rooms on the first floor, were both targeted, Watt said.

"He targeted Charlie just outside the lobby," Watt said. "He then sought out Maria in the lobby."

Christman killed himself immediately after shooting the two women.

Watt did not know why Christman was upset with Leon, who some co-workers said had arrived at work Tuesday with puffy eyes as if she had been crying.

According to the resident, Christman's violent act culminated years of threats against Vanhagar. Three months ago, he emphatically told her he was going to leave the building.

"He beat on his chest with his fist," the resident said. "He said, `I have a pacemaker.' I said, `You have a death wish.' He said, `I'm going to die, but I'm going to take somebody with me when I go ... I'm leaving, but I'm not leaving alone."'

At the Golden West Tower on Wednesday, residents chatted about what had happened in the lobby a day earlier, requiring some to evacuate and others to remain in their upstairs apartments. The only sign that violence had occurred was the missing carpet, which had been pulled from the floor.

A manager residents identified as Ed Quigley refused comment and ordered a Daily Breeze reporter to leave the property. A security guard followed the reporter to the sidewalk.

The resident who spoke to the Daily Breeze said Christman terrorized Vanhagar for years, stalking her and threatening to kill her. Although she invited him into her office to talk and cooked him roast beef, he had become upset with her. Vanhagar used to park at a wall behind the complex, but Christman would meet her at her car and threaten her as she walked inside, the resident said.

The resident said she visited Vanhagar in her office a few months ago and found her crying.

"She was trembling and shaking," the resident said. "She said, `It's Chuck. He told me he was going to kill me."'

Vanhagar told the resident that management would not allow her to call the police.

Watt said police were never called to the building for any complaints about Christman.

The resident described how Christman once walked behind a female resident, grabbed her in a chokehold and said he could easily snap her neck. He sometimes stood in front of the elevator so the person riding inside could not get out.

"I just took my walker and ran over his feet," the female resident said. "He hated women. He called them the `cu' word. He called them the `B' word. He called Charlie the `cu' word all the time."

Leon's son arrived at Golden West on Wednesday morning to collect his mother's belongings. Tears in his eyes, he took a reporter's business card, got into his mother's car and drove away.

Co-workers and residents described Leon as a wonderful employee, who cared for residents, helped with Meals on Wheels and showed up seven days a week. She lived with her son, his wife and her grandchildren.